Fall 2019 Updates at CAL
The Center for Arts-Inspired Learning (CAL) has had a busy and rewarding fall season! Since August, CAL has offered over 1,200 performances, workshops, and residencies in schools across Northeast Ohio. Over 100 of those programs were Pre-K workshops designed by CAL teaching artists and CAL’s pre-kindergarten program CAL Sprouts, which now features four art forms for educational partners to choose from: Digital, Musical, Dancing, and the newest addition Illustrative.
CAL resident teaching artists and roster teaching artists have also provided in-school arts-integrated programming to youth across all grade bands. CAL introduced a new program entitled Blowing Off STEAM, a six-week visual and digital arts residency, that began with an interactive performance. Showcasing real and fictional emotional situations through the eyes of the artists, the performance allowed students to see the impact of such situations and have the opportunity to reflect and ask questions. Students worked with teaching artists in weekly workshops on recording arts and podcasting to expand upon the ideas of managing conflict and self-regulation through the creation of digital arts projects.
In addition to in-school programs, CAL has offered a variety of out-of-school time programs. Twice a week 30 students from Mary Bethune School and Stonebrook Montessori participate in visual and performing arts programming at Studio 105 @ the Glenville Arts Campus. CAL’s STEAM Saturdays: She Creates program, for middle school girls to learn about STEM subjects through the arts, featured filmmaking. By taking ownership of their learning through script writing, lighting, on- and off-camera interviewing, participants in the fall session had fun and gained experience to be able to pursue careers in the creative technology field. CAL also received a competitive grant award from the American Express STEM + Arts Integration Initiative for Level Up! Intended for middle-school youth, this year-round afterschool program empowers youth to understand and to take charge of their world. A professional game designer leads 25 students from Mary Bethune and Citizens Leadership Academy twice a week through activities about interactive media, game design principles, and active play to teach students how to become creators of video games.
CAL has also launched music lessons spurred by the generous donations of musical instruments from across Northeast Ohio. Play It Forward, a program in partnership with other Cleveland organizations, including Arts Cleveland, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the City of Cleveland has allowed CAL to offer free music lessons to youth who have minimal music instruction in their schools. Youth take lessons in guitar and trombone at the Cudell and Glenville Recreation Centers twice a week.In order to provide more in-depth learning to ArtWorks apprentices, the ArtWorks job training program is now offered in one yearlong afterschool session for 40 students that takes place through the Fall and Spring. Students in Visual Arts, Spoken Word/Poetry, Hip Hop/Krump, and Fashion Design co-ops, or groups, are all learning or improving techniques in the arts while also learning job skills such as interviewing, resume-building, and time management. To stay appraised of the latest in ArtWorks, check out the blog.
CAL has also had some exciting updates within the organization. Executive Director Marsha Dobrzynski was recognized as a 2019 Woman of Note by Crain's Cleveland and the 2019 Women Living STEM Award from STEM Ecosystems and TIES. We are also pleased to announce the addition of 3 new members to the Board of Directors: Jamil Sanders of Sequoia Financial Group, Jennifer Goings Smith of Eaton, and Ciera Parish of Jones Day. Plus, CAL is now a proud partner with OAC, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, OhioDance, and VSA Ohio for the development of the Ohio Teaching Artist Roster. Learn more about this exciting initiative here.
We wish all of our friends, supporters, and partners a happy and healthy holiday season!